A Brief History of Nkwen ‘
The village of Nkwen situated in Bamenda town in the North West region of Cameroon, West Africa. The oral legend goes that about three thousand years ago under Arab and Fulani pressure and dominance in the North, land scarcity and internal problems between groupings, there was a split in the ruling Tikar dynasty into smaller groups, which drifted West and Southwest from Kimi in the Adamaoua plateau.
Multiple groups left Ndobo (part of Kimi region) to the Ndop Plains where they lived as small independent Kingdoms, a few kilometers apart. The Bum people among the last to arrive preceded the Bafut, Kom, Nso, and Ndu. Intergroup disputes, mostly over land resources, and succession claims amongst princes often led to movements of the independent Kingdoms or splits within the Kingdoms.
The Kom, Bafut, and Bessi settled in the region now called Babessi. The conflict between Kom and Bessi led to the Kom people moving to Laikom. The Bafuts were friendly with the Koms and subsequently moved near the Koms, settling in the area now occupied by Saint Bedes College, near the Mughef River. The people of Kom called this area "Dji-Nkwen" or land of Nkwen people. The Bafuts and Nkwen belonged to the same Kingdom. Later, they moved from Kom to the present Bafut Kingdom. Because of more rivalry for royal succession, there were other migrations from the Bafut Kingdom including the Nkwen, Mbeli, and Mbui.
The Nkwen faction led by Nsuhfuh, who was crowned the first King, left Bafut and conquered the small Kingdom of Mbelewa taking over their institutions. Before his arrival, Mbelewa was already familiar territory to Nsuhfuh, as he was known to be an excellent hunter Prince and often made hunting expeditions to the hills around Mbelewa. The King of Mbelewa was now made an Atangche (Duke) in the Kingdom of Nkwen. The Nkwen people gave the Mbelewa people the ‘Njang dance’ in return for their Kwifor. King Nsuhfuh and his supporters settled on the hilltop called Atie-laah.
While at Atie-laah, an arid mountainous area, an enterprising woman, named Awah Fiesang, went down the plains on the West of Atie-laah in search of firewood and wild fruits. While there, she noted that the land was much more fertile, level, and teaming with fruit plants and game animals. On her return, she reported her findings to the King, who immediately sent scouts to verify her story. When the scouts confirmed her discovery, the King, and other elders made exploratory tours of the area and finally decided to move the palace to the center of this valley, a place called Fem-Nduh in the present Membu quarter. The elders in conclave with Kwifor fearing that Awah Fiesang may one day claim the village as her find, and perhaps demand more power, decided to eliminate her. Kwifor Awah Fiesang murdered at present day Fee-jaah and a fig tree planted on her grave. This spot, located in Mbefi quarter in Membu, remains one of the most famous shrines in Nkwen. She also often calls “Nde-laah-mbieh” meaning the one who founded the village but lost her life. On moving down to Fem-nduh, The Nkwen people discovered that Tabe-Mboh-nkwa was already living in the area. His origins are unknown, but the King became exquisite friends with Tabe, and his was the only home the King could sleep in. The last known split from the Nkwen people was that of Mendakwe which resulted from a conflict over the throne between two princes in Nkwen. The one, who lost in this struggle, at the time living in Menda quarter, took his supporters and moved uphill to present day Mendakwe. There he made himself the King and called his Kingdom, Mendakwe- meaning Menda on the hill.
King Azefor II was responsible for moving the palace from Fem-nduh to its present site. This site had been a German rest stop as they trekked with their carriers to other distant villages. The observation influenced Azefor II's decision to relocate the palace to present site in the 1930s that his wives were not thriving-few pregnancies and surviving children- at Fem-nduh, and the new palace now strategically located on the hill compared to the valley location of Fem-nduh. The Kings who have ruled Nkwen since the migration from Bafut to present day are:
| Monarch | Reign |
|---|---|
| S.F. Azefor III | 2013 - Present |
| S.Z Ngufor III | 1954 - 2013 |
| N. Azefor II | 1917 - 1954 |
| Ngufor II | Unknown |
| Azefor I | Unknown |
| Atungchen | Unknown |
| Ngufor Mombori I | Unknown |
| Nkwing-awig-ri | Unknown |
| Anyhinygha-akaa-ri | Unknown |
| Mbongmooh | Unknown |
| Ndiemetung | Unknown |
| Nsetifuor | Unknown |
| Nsuhfuh | Unknown |
King Ngufor III was the longest reigning (not the oldest) King of the Northwest followed by the Kings of Mankon (1958) and Akum (1958).